Rundown of May ’06 Preservation Board

Here is a quick look at all the items from last night’s Preservation Board meeting in the order in which there were considered. For the agenda click here.

F: 3524 Victor/Compton Hill Historic District

New property owner buys house for $220K. Proceeds to rip out windows and cornice and replace with poor substitutes —- all without a permit. Staff denies request to keep non-conforming items. At March 2006 meeting he is told he must replace the front windows with appropriate windows as well as redo the cornice differently.

Window issue appears on the April 2006 — even though the board has taken final action and cannot legally take up issue again. Applicant is a no show at meeting but board votes to reaffirm prior month’s decision to require windows to be replaced with some having an appropriate profile.

May 2006 and the window issue is back. Why? The aldermen asked that it be reconsidered even though the law does not provide for such requests. Staff, Board and Board’s legal counsel give in to the request of Alderman to reconsider. Thankfully, board once again rejects the appeal and requires owner to replace windows. Alderman Stephen Conway is up for re-election in March 2007.

A – 1213-21 Dolman Street/Lafayette Square Historic District

Propsal is to build new townhoues with one attached to a very sold single room structure. Everyone, myself included, thinks this is an outstanding and well designed infill project. Board grants preliminary approval.

B: 2736-38 Geyer Ave/Fox Park Historic District

Proposal is to construct a new two unit building and one single unit building. Staff is seeking additional brick return on the sides of the proposed buildings although the ordinance does not require any brick return. A citizen that lives on the block in question raised concerns about the use of brick vs. stone window sills and the detailing on the cornice. Board granted preliminary approval.

C: 1418 Mississippi Ave/Lafayette Square Historic District

Proposal is very complicated. The stunning 2-story house facing Lafayette Square at one time had a third floor. That floor was destroyed in the big 1896 tornado. The owner is seeking to rebuild the original third floor. That much was pretty easy. Where it gets more complicated is the issue of a side porch, fencing and a pool. The owner has a very large side yard that happens to abut a little park located at Mississippi & Park (across from Ricardo’s). Since the side of the house technically faces a park and street the question of this being a public vs. intermediate vs. private facade was raised. The Board voted to defer the matter for now so that staff & the architects could continue working out details before coming back to the Board.

D: Forest Park Southeast Demolitions/Preservation Review District

The short version is the staff & applicant (a development arm of Wash U Medical and BJC) agreed to 22 demolitions rather than 32. The board approved those 22 demolitions. I argued before the Board the requirements of the ordinance had not been met by the applicant (financial hardship, verification buildings could not be rehabbed, etc…) and that until such evidence is shown along with something indicating what will replace these houses they should remain standing.

Forest West Properties, the owner, indicated they want to clear the properties for new construction. North of Chouteau they are wanting to do high-density housing. I said I could very well support those demolitions if I could see the alternative but in the absence of such alternative it was hard to support demolishing structures that to the trained eye could be rehabbed.

Mary “One” Johnson, the Board VP, attempted to argue the applicants case for him by saying new housing will help get things going in the area. What they failed to realize is those attempts and level and build new have not been successful in this neighborhood in the past. It was attempted in the 70’s and that new construction didn’t stem the evacuation. New construction in the last five years hasn’t made a huge impact either. Clearing many more houses will only send the message that old modest housing is worthless and the bulldozer will come for your house next.

E: 4961 Penrose St/City Park

This one is a real shame. A very cute house built in 1902 became part of Penrose Park just three years later in 1905. According to the staff report, it was used a park keeper’s house for many decades. The City’s construction administration arm, The Board of Public Service, claims the demolition has been planned since at least 1997. A park road is being re-routed away from Kingshighway to simplify an interchange. But the proposed route for the new road will place it on the East side of the house, not through it. A grass/berm like amphitheater is apparently what is planned for the site of the existing structure. Staff noted the great the condition of the house. Thankfully the Board did not take the staff recommendation and go with the demolition, instead they gave a one month deferral to give time to look at the house more closely.

Personally I’d like to see the house get saved. If they have the funds to raze the structure (a good $20K) they could instead mothball the structure. This would entail boarding the windows from the interior with black plywood to give the appearance of dark windows. Patch the roof as needed to keep water out , some paint and other work along with exterior plantings and you’ve got a viable structure for when a good use & funds become available. Perhaps through a “Friends of Penrose Park” type organization money could be raised to help renovate the structure for use for a kids program such as the one done in Tower Grove Park. It could be used by bicyclists that use the velodrom also located in the park. We’ve got plenty of room for an amphitheater but we’ll never have the funds to rebuild such a great looking structure. Many parks, including Lafayette Square, cherish their old structures. We deserve no less for Penrose Park.

Following this last item they went into “executive session” which is generally only permitted in cases of personnel issues, such as the hiring or firing of someone. I speculate that Kathleen Shea, the Director of the Cultural Resources office, may be ready to retire.

– Steve

Preservation Board Agenda Raises Legal Question

Seldom does the presence of an item on an agenda raise a question of legality but that is exactly the case with 3524 Victor. In March the owner appealed a staff denial to allow him to keep windows he installed, without a building permit, as these windows did not conform with the historic standards for the area. That is pretty much the process: staff denial followed by Preservation Board denial. Next step in the case of historic districts is to appeal to the planning commission.

But the item appeared once again in April. Apparently the Alderman, Stephen Conway, asked the board to reconsider. Gee, I guess those silly little ordinances don’t apply in the 8th Ward. In April some on the Preservation Board didn’t even want to discuss or vote on the issue as it seemed beyond them in where it should be in the process. I agreed. But, they voted once again to uphold the staff denial. The property owner, however, was not present at the meeting in April. For those keeping score, we’ve got one original staff denial and two board denials.

Is the third time a charm?

The enabling ordinances for the Cultural Resources Office and the Preservation Board are pretty clear when it comes to appeals. In some cases they go to the planning commission and in other cases directly to court. The staff and counsel, by placing this item on an agenda once again, are making a mockery of the system and setting a precedent where alderman can simply keep asking to have an item placed on the agenda month after month until they get the answer they are seeking.

Even more troubling is the Washington University Medical Center plan to raze now 32 houses they own in the Forest Park Southeast Neighborhood. For more information on this aspect please check out The Ecology of Absence as they’ve done a great job following these buildings.

– Steve

Forty Year Anniversary of Last St. Louis Streetcar

Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the last streetcar to operate in regular service in St. Louis. On May 21, 1966 the #15 Hodiamont line ceased operations. From Streets & Streetcars of St. Louis by Andrew D. Young:

“This line opened in 1875 as a narrow-guage steam railroad running northwest on right-of-way from 4000 Enright through Wellston to Florissant.”

For 91 years this line had numerous technical changes but continued to serve the needs to those residents along the line. Many forces following WWII took their toll on streetcar systems: old equipment, GM’s interest in selling buses, road paving & widening projects, bridge replacement projects, and increasing suburban sprawl. While impossible to prove my theory, I believe that had St. Louis updated its streetcar system rather than shutting it down we would not have lost the population we have over these last 40 years. Of course, this assumes many other factors such as something to control sprawl and creative ways to keep lines running while bridges were replaced.

MetroLink, everyone keeps reminding me, is a regional system. While this is nice for everyone far away from the core it does little to benefit me in the core. I want a modern transit system to once again serve the City of St. Louis and it’s inner ring of suburbs. We are a city and we should not be dependent up our cars or typical bus service.

Of course it always come back to money. A regional system is being pushed because St. Louis County can potentially get the money from voters to help fun more of the system. I’m increasingly of the mindset we need to find a way in the city to pay for a localized system of new modern streetcars. I think I’d even settle for one of the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) lines as long as the vehicle that was selected was one that looked more like a rail transit vehicle than a bus.

We need both a regional and core system. The regional system cannot do work of a localized system nor can a local system do the job a regional system is expected to do. Light rail does a great job on the regional level but standard 40ft buses fall short at the local level. I’d like to see the light rail system remain in as much rail right-of-way as possible because that is where it does well. Streetscars, by contrast, are meant for streets.

Forty years is simply too long to have gone without a streetcar running down a city street. Maybe we’ll have enough vision to undo past wrongs.

– Steve

School Board to Vote On Cleveland Tuesday

I’ve been told, by a credible source, that the St. Louis School Board will vote on a proposal from Superintendent Williams to “get the students out of Cleveland High School.” Many from the local community, including Alderwoman Dorothy Kirner, had asked the school system to keep Cleveland open until more detailed assessments of the condition and cost of repairs could be made.

The meeting is apparently set for this coming Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at 5pm at HQ on 11th. Two board members, Flint Fowler & Bill Purdy, that were expected to vote to delay any action will apparently be unable to attend.

I can accept that Cleveland may not stay open as a school but it seems like the action is being made hastily (like so many decisions). I can’t help but wonder if we are not getting the full story.

– Steve

Think Twice Before Writing Off an Ugly Building

I hear it often, “that building is not worth saving.” Indeed, many of our buildings have been so poorly remodeled over the decades that it is hard to imagine them as anything but an eyesore. Such is the case with the building shown at right.

If you’ve been to the awesome Iron Barley restaurant on Virginia in Dutchtown then you’ve probably seen this building at the corner of Virginia and Fassen (map). To most eyes it is not worthy anything except the wrecking ball.

But what did it once look like?

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